Thursday, December 16, 2010

We are gearing up to spend Christmas with my in-laws. I love spending Christmas with them. They are the most creative people I know and I hardly ever make them anything... Why make them something that I know they could make better :))??

But... I decided to brave it this year and make them some family photo blocks. They love receiving new pictures of my kiddos and if you know me at all, you know that I love photo art! Here is what I made them...

Want to make your own? Here is how I did it...

I started with my wood. I purchased a 2x4x8 and a 2x6x8 from Lowe's.

You could just stick with one size but I liked the variation.

I cut my wood using my saw into squares. Since the 2x4x8 is actually 3.5" wide I cut each those 3.5".

After spraying each of the blocks and letting them dry I used an 80 grit sanding block on the edges to shanty it up a bit.

Then I used some dark walnut stain on a sponge brush to darken my sanded edges. I just barely painted it on like below...

And then used an old t-shirt to wipe all of my excess off. This left my edges perfectly shanty.

Here they are ready for my next step!

I used a trimmer to cut my pictures down to size. For my little blocks I do 4x6 photos and my larger ones I like to use 5x7 but I only had 4x6 so I used those for this project. I cut each picture about 1/2" smaller than the blocks.

I then used some 3M photo safe spray adhesive to attach my photos to my blocks.

This stuff is great! You can leave your blocks like that or add a little Mod Podge like I did.

I like to use Matte Mod Podge.

I used a paint brush to put a thin layer over each block. I only did the side with the picture. It goes on white and dries clear.

Oh my gosh! I love it. I always get so many great ideas here. I made my mom & mother in law your "JOY" project last year - now making a red version for my aunt. Now this - EEEKKK! Thank you for your creativity. :)Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas.

My silhouette just came in and I cannot wait to start using it. I wondered if you are able to use other vinyl other than ordering off the site? The reason I ask is that I just got one color with it and I would love to make some Christmas presents but I know the vinyl will not get to me in time.

Love this! I am in the middle of making it right now, except with a cricut (which I would trade for a silhouette any day!. I have run into a snag though, the photos I printed at home smeared badly when I coated them with mod podge, so I am on my way to pick up some more from the photo lab, crossing my fingers they don't smear!